God reigns when we take a liberal view, when a liberal view is presented to us. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Friday, September 3, 2010

After being sentenced to five years in prison, Pete knew that the time would give him the opportunity to reflect upon his past mistakes. So he set out to be a model prisoner and soon impressed the prison staff who could see that he was basically a decent guy. He had simply taken one wrong turning in life. The governor encouraged him to learn a trade so that he could lead a fruitful life on his eventual release. Pete took up carpentry and became so adept that he was often given a weekend pass to odd jobs for local pensioners. Without fail, he reported back to prison on the Sunday evening.The governor was thinking of rebuilding his own kitchen and had already done a lot of the work. But he lacked the skills to build a set of kitchen cupboards and the breakfast counter that he had promised his wife. So he called Pete into his office and asked him whether he could complete the job.

Pete had to decline the offer. He explained: 'I'd really like to help you but counter fitting is what got me into prison in the first place.'